While some success stories reigned supreme at the Paris Olympics, heartbreaks have been equally impactful this season. After her roaring success at the individual floor routine in the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics, Jordan Chiles received one of the most heart-wrenching news.
The 23-year-old got a notice from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) stating that she might have to hand over her bronze back to Romania’s Ana Barbosu. This decision came in after the team rallied for days over Chiles’ score inquiry during the competition.
For some background, the Women’s individual floor routine competition was already full of drama. After the judges ended up underscoring Chiles over a move’s difficulty, Team USA sent in an inquiry to the authorities about re-evaluating it.
After this, the judges acknowledged their mistake and revised her scores, which ultimately got her the bronze.
However, in a recent turn of events, the CAS declared that the inquiry had come in a minute past the deadline for such requests. This meant that the original score would be reinstated to what the judges gave her earlier, putting her in fifth place on the roster.
To say that fans were distraught would be an understatement since the decision came five days after the medal ceremony. Chiles had been receiving hate since her bronze win and took to Instagram to share her heartbreaking announcement after the news surfaced.
“I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health thank you”
USA Gymnastics and the USA Olympics and Paralympics Committee also released a joint statement revealing how the CAS’ decision was devastating. They also pointed out that an unexpected and ugly consequence of the entire ordeal was the unnecessary hate towards Chiles.
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Since her bronze medal win, many reported that she was subject to “baseless and extremely hurtful attacks” on social media. The decision came in as the final blow to her, hence the extended break from the virtual space.
While the negotiations between the committees still go on, the gymnastics world had a unanimous take on the situation. They all wanted Chiles to retain her medal while presenting Barbosu with another bronze.
The judges were at fault in this case, and fans felt that the committees needed to hold them accountable.
